california – Page 2

I See You Morro Bay

Published on November 11, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

Mike’s hobby is triathlons (cue the jokes about not running even if you were paid, let alone swimming and biking before…!) and through the sport he met Gary & April. After training together – the 3 of them scouting out different local trails and swimming pools – I finally got to meet them at a bar for drinks one night shortly after.

This was about four years ago. Since then, Gary and April have moved down to Southern California (waaaahhh!) but we still see each other as often as possible. We love to plan trips around triathlons (I spectate, they swim/bike/run) and either camp, share an airbnb, or – if we’re feeling really cheap – a hotel room with 2 beds and hopefully a hot tub. We’ve been all around California as a goofy foursome, hitting up different tris in Napa, SLO, and Tahoe.

This past weekend, along with Mike and Gary participating in a tri, we also celebrated my birthday in Morro Bay, exactly 3 hours in between us in the central coast. Morro Bay is your quintessential little beach town, with it’s salty air and ocean sound effects adding ambiance to the creaky, semi-worn down restaurants and shops lining the roads.

Upon arriving on Friday night, we went to the store to stock up on beer and breakfast noms for the next morning. I’m a big fan of IPAs and found a tangerine one that was nomnom. It was a perfect combination of citrus and hoppy; and a solid 6% – beer under 5% is a waste of time and calories! After a few beers and catching up a little bit, we all went to bed.

The next morning we drank coffee (tea for Mike!) and made a decadent breakfast. I’ve mentioned on the blog a few times that a splash of 1/2&1/2 in my morning coffee would be one of the hardest things to give up if I were ever to be a vegan. I’m surprised that this theory has been actually debunked… I now prefer almond milk in my coffee over cow’s milk. Now, if only cheese wasn’t ~~part of the reason I live~~ so delicious…

Morning view of the Morro Bay Rock from our airbnb

For breakfast we have waffles, eggs, bacon, and strawberries. Fuel for a fun day is downtown San Luis Obispo. There was a Dia De Los Muertos estival in that we explored before eating at Luna Red. A few years ago we went to the same place for breakfast after a camping trip nearby and all four of us still remembered how good it was. We had to go back! Like last time, it didn’t disappoint. We left filled up on cocktails and tacos.

I’ve got ~~almond milk~~ clouds in my coffee…

When we got back to our airbnb, Gary and April took a nap. Trying to resist napping myself, Mike and I started an episode of The West Wing but the allure of sleep beat out Aaron Sorkin’s witty banter and I quickly fell asleep.

For dinner we went Rose’s Bar and Grill and sat out by the water. Morro Bay is famous for this massive rock and we had a great view! April and I each ordered a glass of white wine, a house salad, and the lobster mac n’ cheese. Hooray for girlfriends to spilt dinners with! (Even though, to be fair, Mike does spilt things with me most of the time.)

As we were walking out, we spotted a small arcade room with air hockey. We stopped for a few rounds before heading back to the house where we finished the night off with a game of Love Letters, a house favorite.

img_20161105_193717 — Mike holding my purse (thanks Life in Leggings for the recommendation!) while I played air hockey

The next morning, Gary and Mike woke up early to set up for the triathlon they were participating in! April and I spelt in and took our time getting down to the start. Added bonus: it was daylight savings (daylight saving?) and no one was complaining about the extra hour off sleep.

After we watched both Mike and Gary make it back from the swim, April and I headed to The Coffee Pot for some much needed BLACK MAGIC and breakfast. Here we spilt (again, I know) a breakfast croissant and home fries. Then it was back to the finish line to see our men come in from the run.

img_20161106_084105 — Mike peeling off his wetsuit after the swim (the only picture I got, ek)

img_20161106_114322 — “Now a silly one….”

Sweaty and tired, we went back to the house for the guys to shower and then packed up the cars, cleaned up the house, and were right back downtown ready to eat again!

Then it was time to head home and say goodbye 😦 but not without seeing a little otter family in the bay first!

Until next time, Morro Bay!

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe.**

Tahoe Birthday Festivities!

Published on September 7, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

This year we celebrated Mike’s birthday at one of our favorite places, Squaw Valley in North lake Tahoe. It was a long weekend and on Saturday morning, after fueling up at our favorite local bagel shop, we set out on the 4 hour drive to Tahoe. We arrived around 12pm; just in time for lunch! Since check in at the resort wasn’t until 4pm, we decided to eat and then spend time on the lake kayaking.

We stopped at Tahoe Brewing Co. for lunch and split a flight of beer, chicken wings, and a hummus + avocado wrap. Typically I aim for one carb meal, one protein meal, and one combo meal (carb and protein meal) in a day. For me, this is the most effective way to maintain a healthy body weight while not feeling overloaded with restrictions. Of course, I’m also sure to load up on veggies whenever possible! Our wings and veg wrap was the perfect combo meal and kept me full for hours.

Unfortunately the lake was too choppy for us to kayak after lunch, so we opted for drinks poolside at the resort before our room was ready.

We had dinner at the property pub and then back to our room for gifts, scotch, and games! Mike’s actual birthday was on Sunday but I couldn’t contain myself and made him open his presents early. 😉

On Sunday we rode our bikes to Olympic Village, where we did a little repeat afternoon from a few years ago and took a gondola up, up, up to the top of a mountain where there is a pool and hot tub (!). All day was like, hot tub, pool, drink, snack, rinse, repeat. 🙂

For dinner I took Mike to Six Peaks, one of our favorite fancy places to dine! Everyone is so friendly there and the food is ah-mazing; it’s hard not to have a great time. We started with a charcuterie board and then each ordered a filet mignon and shared side of truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus. They brought Mike dessert for his birthday that (we think) was banana pudding in a cookie-crust bowl with bananas, whip cream, and chocolate shavings on top. I don’t think we would have ordered it if we saw it on the menu but, like everything at Six Peaks, it was heaven.

14237515_10154215672684230_8168939815696864323_n — Our view of the pools at dinner

On Monday, Mike woke up early for a swim. I met him a bit later for tea and hot tubing! We spent a lazy morning alternating between the pool and hot tub. SO MUCH POOL TIME THIS WEEKEND.

Since we weren’t able to kayak on Saturday, we tried again before we left and luckily the water wasn’t as choppy! We spent a hour on beautiful lake Tahoe, kayaking together and taking it all in. One of my favorite things about mine and Mike’s relationship is how much we do together. He urges me to explore the world through activity (bike rides, hikes, kayaking, etc.), while accompanying me on my never-ending quest of healthy eating and compassionate living. I don’t think I could have picked a better partner!

After working up an appetite on the lake, we broke into our cheese, cracker, and prosciutto leftovers from dinner the night before. Then, still hungry and needing more food, we went to Rocker@Squaw and noshed on (more) wings and a veggie plater with hummus and Green Goddess dressing. NomNOM.

After lunch we stopped for a coffee and one last splurge at Dorinda’s Chocolates – best sea salt caramels in all the land!

As usual, our time at squaw did not disappoint! Now the countdown is on for when we return in December with Mike’s family. 🙂

Stay tuned and eat your greens!

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Yosemite 2016

Published on August 18, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes3 Comments

We spent the weekend camping in Yosemite and I’m already jonesing to go back. Aside from a quick drive through with my grandparents when I was younger, this was my first time spending the night in the majestic national forrest.

Every year our friend Ben (who we went to Tahoe with in February) plans a trip with a bunch of friends; meals are divided between everyone, wine and different beers to sample are shared, there are campfires and singing, a talent show, and even a custom made T shirt for that particular trip.

On our first night there was a meteor shower, so around 12am and we headed down the river’s edge and got cozy under the stars. I saw the brightest, biggest shooting star within the first 10 minutes we were there. It was spectacular (!) but the rest of the stargazing fell short in comparison… After 45 minutes or so (and no more huge shooting star sightings) we headed back to camp and called it a night. …or so we thought.

Both Mike and I had trouble sleeping the first night. Finally – at one point when we were both awake at the same time – we decided to go back out to the beach for some more meteor searching. The best time was supposed to be around 4am so we thought we would have better luck on our second round.

Instead of making it down to the sand again, we ended up folding our towels into makeshift pillows and laying on the bridge connecting the camp grounds to the beach. This was both very romantic and terrifying at the same time. My mind kept alternating between us sharing a rom com-esce moment – sweetly laying hand in hand on a bridge underneath the stars – and a horror movie with a predator bear on a killing rampage & two star gazing lovers making for a tasty appetizer. Yikes!

When I wasn’t movie-montaging my life, I was concentrating on the sky. It ended up actually being later than we thought (around 5am – the things you don’t know when your phone isn’t attached to you!) so we didn’t see too many shooting stars but, nonetheless, there is just something about being surrounded by nature, isn’t there??

IMG_20160814_121246 — Our stargazing bridge

We went back to camp and were able to sleep for a few hours, waking up around 9:30am for a slow and delicious morning. I happily learned that there was coffee for sale at the general store nearby. We were staying at Housekeeping, which is almost glamping (oh hey!) with the showers, laundry facilities, a store and, most importantly, fresh brewed coffee on the premises. Mike and I took a stroll down to the store and filled up on caffeine while breakfast was being made. When we got back we had eggs, bacon, waffles, and fruit to fuel us for the day.

After breakfast we all went for a hike to lower Yosemite falls and let me just say, highlight of the trip! To get to the falls you “hike” – but really rock climb – up about a mile or so. The climb up itself was a lot of fun (especially since I’ve recently got back into rock climbing and felt like a little ninja up there, demonstrating all of my bouldering abilities) but nothing prepared me for the gorgeous scene that was waiting at the top.

Picture a rocky nook hidden in a waterfall’s stream with big boulders lazily laying all around and water pooling, making the area a swimming hole. A little rock oasis, tucked away. When the waterfall is at full power and – well, water is falling – this place is unreachable. But this past weekend the water was more trinkling than falling (a watertrinkle!) and we took full advantage.

Word to the wise, use a Go Pro, be sure to constantly wipe the thing down so water spots don’t ruin your pix! At least half of our pictures are blurry because we forgot to…

After a few hours in the water, we hiked back down to our camp site; just in time for lunch! Ben’s dad and stepmom had an amazing spread of homemade chicken pesto salad, assorted breads, hummus, chips, Mary’s Gone Crackers (my fav!), fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and cantaloupe. Yummmmmmy!

Next we went back down to the river, armed with rum and floaties.

We left the beach after an hour or so and went back to the campsite. It mine and Mike’s turn to cook for everyone. We made a salad and fajitas, which turned out to be great for vegetarians and meat eaters!

After dinner we were transported back to college and played a few rounds of beer pong. I learned that I’m still terrible at the game and Mike quickly replaced me as a partner… We ended the night with a few rounds of a new board game Mike has been playing (with a title that isn’t very PC).

The next morning we went to brunch at The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. I didn’t even know this existed and, to be honest, it was a little off-putting to see such a grand hotel in the middle of a national forrest… Don’t get me wrong, brunch was good but I couldn’t help but think do we really need couches, a flat screen TV, and a fireplace in Yosemite!?

Fun fact: I did learn the Obama’s recently stayed there by eavesdropping on a another table’s conversation with a waiter. I think I was literally craning my neck to hear more.

After brunch and packing everything up and said goodbye. Having taken our bikes but not having a chance to ride them, Mike and I decided to bike to the hike from the day before (rhymes!). It was as amazing the second time around as it was the first and a great way to end a fun weekend!

Can’t wait to get back there next year!

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

A day in the life (Tuesday)

Published on June 15, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibesLeave a comment

I don’t know why but I love reading Day in the Life posts. Something about seeing what my favorite bloggers do in a normal, unscripted day makes me feel like I am getting a behind the scenes glance into their lives. Not that I expect anyone to love reading about my random Tuesday (except maybe my parents; hi mom!) but I still thought it would be fun to partake in this internet trend.

7am: Alarm goes off, hit snooze

7:10am: Alarm goes off again, hit snooze

7:25am: Finally get out of bed/get ready

7:45am: Make breakfast (I usually breakfast when I get to work but I had some cashew milk to use today)

8:00am: Leave the house with all of my bags for the day; purse, laptop backpack and gym stuff

8:15am: Hop on the shuttle to work

9:30am: Grab a latte and work for a while in a cafe on campus

11:30am: Snack attack! Time for veggies, hummus, and grapes

CD37DDF7-A67D-423C-853F-C8999A5000D7 — Yes, I have a mouse pad of my own blog…. 😉

1:00pm: Ride to Taco Tuesday!

3:00pm: Meet with a colleague to work together

5:00pm: Cardio sculpt!

6:00pm: Snack attack round II

7:00pm: Home/champagne + FaceTime with my good friend Nicole while dinner is in the oven

Nicole and I have been friends forever and her carefree, positive spirit is contagious. A definite gem to hang around during a month of No Negativity! Especially with life advice nuggets like, “just eat well, smile, and have a drink.”

Cheers to that, sister.

7:30pm: Dinner

Mike wasn’t home so a simple dinner of fishstix and garlic green beans it was!

3FC50593-16C8-4359-8A31-983D3E31FBE4 (1)

8pm: Start this blog post

10pm: Get in bed and write in my 642 Things To Write About book

10:15pm: Read for a bit before turning off the lights and going to sleep

That’s a wrap!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Girls weekend!

Published on May 23, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

This weekend I spent a lot of time with my girlfriends. The older I get, the harder I find it to carve out quality time for friends because of hectic schedules and the miles in between us. It was great seeing so many of my girls and spending more than a shared meal or quick coffee catch up sesh with them. I’ve noticed that too often we spend our time together reminiscing on the “old times” – and all of the memories we made once upon a time – instead of creating new stories to tell years from now…

One of my good friends Leslie is in town and we spent all day Saturday together. We started the day in San Francisco, wondering Union Street and eating breakfast at a place called Perry’s. Lucky for me, Leslie doesn’t eat much meat either so we happily split a veggie scramble and the California eggs Benedict, plus 2 lattes; but no splits there! 🙂

After breakfast we did some window shopping. Shortly after we decided we could both go for another coffee and popped in a Starbucks for round two. We stumbled into a place called Urban Remedy; which is a vegan storefront that offers juices, quick grab and go meals, and a few other snacks. We picked up a bag of their Ginger Brittle and sat with our coffees, chatting, snacking and sipping.

After some vegan noshing, we headed across the Bay to Livermore for late afternoon wine tasting with Leslie’s mom. We started at Wente Vineyards and then went to Concannon. I am actually the worst at wine tasting because I find that I always forget what the last wine I tried tasted like, so I can’t compare the wines the way other people seem to do. Plus I’m also not a picky wine drinker by any means (being way more bougie about my beer than my wine) and can’t tell a merlot from a cab from any other red… Nonetheless, both vineyards were beautiful.

After wine tasting we went downtown for Italian at a place called Bruno’s, which was delicious but really, what Italian food isn’t?

On Sunday, Leslie came down to my house, along with our friend, Shelby, and her cute little chunk of a baby. We spent the afternoon poolside while snacking on chips, hummus, and guacamole.

My other good friend Morgan was also in town for a work conference and came over shortly after we got back from the pool. Morgan and I used to be neighbors but now she lives in Washington. I haven’t seen her since October when Mike and I went to visit her and her fiance. We caught up for a while at my place and then went to our friend’s Jules and Ben’s house for wine and burrito bowls.

Overall, it was a fun weekend spent with some of the best girls I know (and, not to mention, a few cute babies and glasses of wine too). Good stuff, if you ask me!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

The Happiest Place on Earth

Published on April 20, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes3 Comments

Mike and I recently headed to southern California for a long weekend visiting friends and exploring Disneyland! We left around 2pm on Wednesday and drove to Chatsworth, where our friends Gary and April moved a few years ago. It was so good to see them again, even if it was only for one night. We were able to see their new house, have a few beers, and entertain ourselves with the face swap feature on snapchat… literally so scary.

On Thursday morning we woke up early to beat the infamous LA traffic and get to Disneyland on time. I snagged a cup of coffee before we left Gary and April’s but we didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast. Instead of overpaying for food in the park, we stopped a few miles before our hotel and got breakfast croissants at a little one-off coffee shop.

We stayed at the Carousel Beach Inn right across from the park entrance. The hotel wasn’t anything special but it was about a 10 minute walk to Disneyland. The lack of amenities (no WiFi or breakfast!) was doable given the great location. Besides, when you’re at Disneyland, you’re really only in the hotel to sleep and, believe me, sleep comes hard and fast after 12+ hours of walking.

Mike and I got the 2 day park hopper tickets and started our adventure in Disneyland. Growing up, I went to Disneyland often with my mom, grandma, and grandpa but we only went to California Adventure once; so Disneyland is really the beating heart for my childhood memories and nostalgia.

IMG_20160414_133856 — The main entrance!

IMG_20160414_133901 — The photographer wanted us to “stare into each other’s eyes” and I was barely able to keep it together…

IMG_20160414_133904 — Secretly giggling at the awkwardness

I was pretty stoked to be starting the day in the happiest place on earth. (If only it wasn’t so crowded…) We walked to Space Mountain first to grab a fast pass and were completely overwhelmed with how insane Tomorrowland was. Star Wars has taken over. We made an agreement to spend as little time as possible there.

IMG_20160414_094625 — Waiting for our first ride!

Luckily the rest of the park wasn’t as crowded. We were able to ride Pirate’s, The Haunted House, the Matterhorn, and a few others before going back to use our fast pass on Space Mountain. Space Mountain was my favorite ride when I was little and it didn’t disappoint now being 26 years old!

After riding rides all morning, we were ready for lunch. We made our way to Harbour Galley and shared a shrimp salad, a lobster roll and a giant iced tea. Theme park food is often unhealthy and caloric but I’m always starving! A salad would not hold me over (plus, most of the time, the salads aren’t actually even that healthy…) so I love that Mike is willing to split things with me! This way we are able to at least get some vegetables but also splurge a bit. Win-win.

Next we went to explore California Adventure and I was pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it was! I thought I was going to want to stay in Disneyland the whole trip (possibly clinging a little too hard to some childhood memories!) but it was well worth it to pay the money and go back and forth between the two parks.

Added bonus: California Adventure has wine and beer. Cheers!

For dinner we went to Downtown Disney and sat outdoors at a place called UVA Bar. We split an order of the calamari to start. I ordered the mushroom flat bread pizza and Mike order the lamb burger with spicy Greek fries. The food was so good but we needed to eat quickly in order to ride the Tower of Terror one more time before closing.

IMG_20160414_211018 — Leaving CA Adventure (hair a mess after a long day)

After a day of a lot of walking, riding, screaming, eating, drinking, and plain ol’ Disney magic, it was time to go back to the hotel and sleep.

On Friday we were at the park before opening, deciding to start the day in California Adventure to capitalize on the Starbucks there. Armed with my iced coffee and spinach and feta egg white wrap (a go-to breakfast for me when I’m traveling), I was ready for another round of Tower of Terror.

We are in the front row on the left. I look like I’m going to puke and Mike is playing a prank.

We went to Cars Land after and rode Radiator Springs Racers, which was definitely my favorite ride in California Adventure.

After a few other rides we grabbed a beer and sat down for a while. Mike had his step tracker on his phone and it calculated we had walked ~29,000 steps on Thursday and ~36,000 by the end of Friday.

Another round for us!

By chance, while we were there, the Food & Wine festival was going on so we were able to try some really good beers and small plates. We snacked on chicken and 4 cheese mac n’ cheese and some fried artichokes while people watching.

After our light snacks, we went back to Disneyland (a lot of park hopping comes with the park hopper tickets!) for more rides and lunch. Having eaten (mostly) vegetarian throughout the day, I was ready for some meat during lunch! (Weekatarianism isn’t really a thing on vacations…) We stopped at Bengal Barbecue for chicken and bacon wrapped asparagus skewers and split a jalapeno stuffed pretzel.

Towards the end of the day, we had our fast passes lined up perfectly and spent a fun 2 hours running through the parks to make all of our rides on time.

After our last ride on our fast pass binge, we went to downtown Disney again for dinner. This time opting for a little fancier eatery and dining at House of Jazz. I ordered the Gulf Shrimp Pan Roast, which came with (more) artichoke hearts, andouille sausage, tomato veloute and Cajun rice. SO GOOD! I love New Orleans inspired food.

And of course we couldn’t resist the Beignets for dessert!

After dinner we went back to Disneyland to finish out the evening. We rode Big Thunder Mountain (one of my favorites!) one last time before the park closed and we went back to the hotel for another deep, deep sleep.

On Saturday we woke up early and drove to Orange County to visit some very good friends of mine. I met my friend Sam in college, who was living with her aunt Robin and uncle Tony. Robin was expecting her first baby and I was looking for a job! Having experience with kids, I started watching Robin and Tony’s son (and a few years later, their daughter) every week for over 2 years.

I spent basically every day with Sam and her family and love them like they are my own. Sadly in 2009 they all moved down to southern California and now I don’t see them nearly as much as I would like to.

Sam had a precious, pretty, perfect little baby girl in March and I finally got to meet her sweet little self. It was so good to end our weekend with such close friends.

IMG_20160416_191037 — Beautiful like her mama!

Overall, we had a great vacation – a perfect couple of days spent away before I start my new job next week!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Just start.

Published on March 31, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

Typically the last week in the month is a bit of a free for all when it comes to “good habits.” Meaning, I tend to put off working out… pour myself a second glass of wine… eat another slice of pizza… because there’s next month to start over!

I am the queen of fresh starts and clean slates. Usually- and I’m not exaggerating here – if I don’t start something on the first of the month, there is a good chance I’ll put it off for another 29 – 30 days.

I have a friend who did a 30 Day Yoga Challenge (which I’ve done a few of myself) and she just randomly started on like the 8th or something. When she told me this, my mind just couldn’t comprehend. I could never start something so abruptly. I need a “fitting” timeline (like starting on the first of the month!). Structure. An end goal.

I remember actually asking her, “how can you just start something like that so randomly?”

This friend is a lot more laid back than I am. I’m sure she is often entertained (and exhausted) by my complex – sometimes complicated – way of thinking about things. She stared back at me. “What do you mean? You just start!”

You.just.start.

Say, wha?

I’m not 100% behind these words yet but I am getting better at not letting the need for “fresh starts” to take such superiority.

Even if it is against my nature. At the beginning of each month I sit down with my planner and write down my fitness, writing, and personal goals. Surface level, I would say this is a good habit. It keeps me focused for the month but doesn’t result in boredom because I am constantly changing things up.

The trouble begins when life gets in the way. Which, of course, it is bound to do. For example, this week I had planned to do the classic cardio and strengthen training combination everyday.

And then I remembered I had a work dinner on Monday night.

And I was invited to a work event Tuesday afternoon/evening.

Two out of five of my workouts were already failures. Typically, at this point, I would have given up and resolved to start up again next week (or, next month).

But, I’m starting to recognize that consistency is best; not having a “perfect” month. So on Wednesday after work, I laced up my shoes, grabbed the trash (trying to save time and a trip down the stairs by taking it out on my way for a run), and headed out the door.

And then… AND THEN I dropped my keys with the trash in the dumpster.

Luckily my neighbor was home and helped me fish them out but by the time we got them, Mike was home and we had to go pick up my car from getting some routine maintenance before the dealership closed.

12919732_10156689077450414_9072525151070267373_n — Dumpster diving

Three days in a row of life getting in the way of my perfectly planned workouts…

When we got home, I was getting hungry but I knew I had to do something. I headed outside again with the intention of running/walking 2 miles but by the time I was done with my 1st mile, I was ready to go in and start dinner. I figured 1 mile was better than nothing and decided to “make it up” on Thursday (today) and Friday. If I just did a 1/2 mile more each day, I would still come close to hitting my goal.

Today I set out for my 2.5 miles and was hit by an allergy attack after my first mile! I tried to continue but I was sneezing and snotting everywhere (not cute).

Another day of sub par exercise.

But the important part here is tomorrow is another day to do better.

Just start. Just go. Just do it. (#Nike)

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Californians and their avocados…

Published on March 22, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes1 Comment

It’s been gloomy in California lately and I decided to spend the afternoon at home “pampering” myself the other day. I think it’s important to realize you don’t have to spend a whole bunch of money to feel better about yourself. No matter how great I feel with fresh highlights and a new outfit, it would be a pricey habit to rely on spending all of that money to brighten my day.

Sometimes just spending a hour or so on yourself is good enough! I was feeling like a hot mess – with un-brushed hair and chipped nail polish – when I decided to go for a run/walk but right when I laced up my shoes, it started raining. I could have done another workout instead but I decided just to go for it. Oddly, running in the rain makes it more pleasant for me.

After my workout, I had one of my favorite protein packed snacks – snap peas dipped in hummus with hot sauce and a string cheese.
Then I took off that chipped nail polish! Typically doing our nails is thought of pampering but because of all the chemicals in nail polish, I feel better when my nails are bare. Scrubbing off my O.P.I. and cutting/filing my nails makes me feel best.
Next I took a hot shower and SHAVED even though it’s raining here and I won’t be wearing shorts anytime soon. Nothing gets you feeling like you brought your A game like smooth legs.
After I showered, I slathered myself with avocado oil – how California of me, I know.
I got dressed and, for once, avoided yoga pants or leggings, opting for jeans. (Full disclaimer: this was more for Mike than me;)
Next I dyed my eyebrows. Some people feel best when they’re having a good hair day, for others it’s all about their outfit, but for me? when my eyebrows are a tad darker than their natural state that I feel my best.
While my eyebrow dye sat and dyed, I brushed my hair (it is all too often that my hair defaults in a messy bun on top of my head) and fish tail braided it to get it out of my face. Braiding my hair is one of my favorite things to do – it’s so simple and really gives you bang for your buck because after you take it out, you’re left with pretty waves. Two hairstyles out of one? Sold.

IMG_20160321_170803 — Hair braided. Eyebrows dyed. …Chillin’ with no makeup on

After I felt like a human again, I hit the kitchen to try out a new recipe. I originally saw this recipe on the YouTube channel What’s Up Moms (which I am obsessed with, even though I’m not a mom yet). There are a few alterations but it was delicious!

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Prep time: 15 minutes – Cook time: 15 minutes – Serves: 2

Ingredients

1.5 c of your favorite pasta (I used brown rice and quinoa)
1 bag baby kale
1/2 avocado
1 Tbs olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1/4 c basil
1/2 c cherry tomatoes

Directions

Cook pasta according to package
While pasta is cooking, add kale, pealed avocado, olive oil, garlic and basil into blender and blend until smooth
Strain pasta but keep some of the water to thin out sauce (if need be)
Pour sauce (thinned out with pasta water, if needed) over hot pasta
Add sliced cherry tomatoes and mix together
Serve and enjoy!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

South Lake Tahoe

Published on February 16, 2016April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes2 Comments

We’ve been planning a trip to south lake Tahoe since the end of last year with 4 other couples and it finally happened this past weekend! Tahoe is the perfect weekend escape if you live in the Bay Area since it’s only about 4 hours away and has a bunch of activities to do in the summer or winter. Mike and I usually frequent north lake (you can read about our trips here and here) but south shore has more of a party vibe and is better to go with friends.

We spent most of the weekend in a cabin we rented with everyone but Mike and I drove up on Thursday, before most of the others, and shared a room at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino with our friends Ben and Sandra. This way Mike and Ben could hit the slopes on Friday, and Sandra and I could hit the sushi bar.

When we got there around midnight but Ben and Sandra were still about 45 minutes out and we couldn’t check in without them since the hotel was under Ben’s name. Instead we grabbed a beer in the casino and tried not to inhale too much because of all the smoke.

On Friday the guys went straight to the lift while Sandra and I spent a leisurely day getting coffee, sushi, drinking wine, and watching Ellen. Around 6pm most of the other couples arrived and we got ready for dinner at MacDuff’s Pub. This place was cute and cozy, basically a quintessential Irish pub. Half of our group ordered the truffled mac n cheese and, as good as it looked, I knew it would be too rich for me so I got the corned beef and cabbage instead. After dinner, we played Anomia, a card game that involves a lot of quick thinking and shouting at each other.

Saturday started with a lazy breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fruit + a coffee run. It could be just me but heading to Starbucks with a huge list of coffee orders makes me feel oddly very much like an adult…

Back at the cabin, armed with caffeine and Chromecast, we alternated between watching Beyonce and Justin Bieber music videos. (Also, very adult like, for the record.) Finally around 1pm we collectively decided it was time to go outside and play in the snow. We gathered our gloves, hats, beers, and googles to go sledding nearby.

12705412_10103695056094770_5063781684454586884_n

I was starving when we got back to the house and was stoked that I had leftovers from the night before. After scarfing down the rest of my corned beef and cabbage, it was time to hot tub! While we were soaking in the jacuzzi the last couple arrived. We all went to Cold Water Brewery & Grill for dinner with the intention of going to the casinos after.

Mike and I split pretzel bites with beer fondue, a rice + veggie bowl, and fish & chips. It was a lot of food and we just couldn’t rally after. The whole group was tired and suffering from food comas so we went back to the cabin and fell asleep.

12755413_10103698717801680_1818588503_o — Everyone!

On Sunday there was another coffee run and some brunch action back at Cold Water Brewery & Grill, where we saw monkey bread on the menu the night before and had to go try it.

Overall the weekend was filled with more beer than vegetables and essentially no exercise but a lot of fun in a great location!

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe**

Food Crawlin’

Published on July 14, 2015April 10, 2021 by ashley@vegvibes3 Comments

This past weekend was full of favorites for me and Mike. We spent the weekend at Resort at Squaw Creek in North Lake Tahoe. We stayed at this resort for the first time last year and got upgraded to a fireplace suite. Whoever upgraded us should get some sort of promotion because the resort has become a home away from home for us during the past year! And we splurge for the suites because having a fireplace (and a stove, a toaster, a master bedroom and 2 TVs) in your hotel room, never gets old!

11411998_10155772283830414_5364679835982125706_o

Aside from staying at the resort, we partook in a pretty amazing food crawl. If you don’t know what a food crawl is (like many of the waiters and waitresses who wanted to be sure we only wanted a salad… for both of us… to split…), it’s when you “crawl” from eatery to eatery having your appetizer, salad, soup, entree, dessert, etc. all at different restaurants. Food crawls are great because they allow you to sample a lot of different foods, especially on vacations when there are so many restaurants to try!

We started at the welcoming event the resort offers on Friday evenings with beer and app samples and then went to the pub located on the property. Here we each ordered a cocktail and decided on the pretzel bites (you might remember when I wasn’t eating meat in March and ordered these same pretzel bites for dinner).

Next we took the free shuttle service to The Village and stopped at a bar(?) called 22. If I’m being honest, I have to say this was my least favorite stop on the crawl. We split a steak salad with fennel and beets. I enjoyed the salad but the atmosphere, in my opinion, was lacking. It felt a little old world and stuffy… (and I thought it smelt weird but Mike didn’t feel the same so, who knows?)

After our salad, we went to another pub (this one Irish) and ordered the potato skins and sliders which were ~~so unhealthy and full of fat and cheese and calories~~ amazing! We ended our food crawl with a pear tart at a pizza place (not photographed) and a nightcap back in our suite!

The next day, we took the tram to the top of the mountains where there was a pool, hot tub, cafe, bar, and a mini-museum from the 1960 Olympics that were hosted at Squaw. At the cafe we split 3 appetizers (another good way to try a lot of different things!!); the bruschetta with an avocado drizzle, a flat bread with spinach, figs and a balsamic glaze, and BBQ wings. I had higher hopes for the flat bread and the bruschetta – which were both just okay – but the wings were the NOM and Mike gave me the last/uneven extra one so ya know… I fell in love with him all over again, type thing.

For dinner (I fell in love, yet again;), Mike treated me to a fancy-schmancy steak dinner at Six Peaks, the resort’s restaurant. We started with a cheese and meat sampler that I could have had all to myself and called it a meal. We also ordered/split (do you see a common theme here?) a rib-eye and a fillet with truffle mashed potatoes and asparagus. Seriously. So. Good.

Last, but not least, we ended the night with my FAVORITE chocolate covered Oreo’s with mini M&Ms on top (I don’t even like Oreo’s in “real life” but put me on top of a mountain, charge me Mike $4.50 per Oreo and #bliss).

So, to recap, obviously my attempt to stop eating meat during The Veg Voyage has been derailed (steak salad and wings and rib-eye, oh, MY!) but you know what they say………………….. Oreos are vegan.

Stay tuned and eat your greens.

** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: